Disability discrimination persists despite growing awareness and advocacy
“During my first semester [of freshman year], I was still using crutches [and] accessibility was an issue,” Zuckerman said.
Surface-level accessibility services, like wheelchair ramps or automatic ADA push buttons, give the impression of an accessible campus. However, Zuckerman and other students have found a plethora of issues in one of the largest schools on the East Coast.
The Student Accessibility Support Center (SASC) is the designated service center meant to assist students with disabilities. The center works with students, faculty and staff to provide both physical and academic accommodations such as ride services, accessible testing environments and more. Since SASC’s establishment at least 40 years ago, several students with disabilities have voiced that the center has provided either inadequate accommodations or a lack thereof, while others have praised the center.
Another system designed to help students with disabilities is the Para-Transit system. Mobility and Parking Services (MAPS) and SASC work together to provide a shuttle service that complies with ADA regulations by transporting students with disabilities around campus. Students who need physical accommodations must apply for the service since the regular bus system offered by MAPS fails to provide accessibility options. These buses have several limitations, including narrow seating and aisles, restricted wheelchair accessibility and stair-only entry and exit points.
Para-Transit requires students to preemptively select specific times and meeting areas to be picked up from and dropped off at for the entirety of the semester. However, this solution restricts students to a rigid schedule with a lack of flexibility.
Issues with Para-Transit are made worse by unclear shuttle pick-up and drop-off locations, as there are no signs indicating where the shuttle will arrive. Instead, Para-Transit gives students a general idea of where they should be waiting for the bus. The lack of precise markers can make it confusing for first-time users to find exact pick-up locations.
The doors closest to the Para-Transit stops at buildings such as the Humanities Building, Javits Lecture Center and the Earth and Space Sciences Building do not have automatic ADA push buttons. This forces students to deal with the heavy doors or makes them travel around the inclined building to enter.
Lukas West, a junior majoring in philosophy, lives with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome and joint hypermobility syndrome. As a result, West uses a wheelchair to minimize physical stress on their body. They criticized the heavily restrictive nature of the Para-Transit system, which pushed them to consider dropping the service altogether.
“Yes, they’re there. Yes, it moves you around campus. But it removes so much of your autonomy about when you go [and] where,” West explained.
West looked back on times when they were forced to choose between meeting the bus on time or enjoying a nice, sunny day with friends.
“If you’re five minutes late, they drive away, but they can be up to 15 minutes late and you still have to be waiting for them, which I don’t think is fair,” West said. “You can’t call Para-Transit to pick you up, like if you get on the train, you can’t be like, ‘Hey, can you come get me?’”
Eventually, West informed SASC they would be withdrawing from the service. But to their frustration, they were met with doubt from SASC.
“Oftentimes, people won’t trust you when you tell them what you need, and that’s the one thing that I have run into with some SASC people,” West said. “I was telling them that I didn’t want to [use] Para-Transit anymore because Para-Transit sucks. They were like, ‘But you need Para-Transit.’ And I was like, ‘Don’t tell me what I need.’”
Zuckerman suggested that a possible solution to the issues could include creating a new, more accessible transportation system that coexists with Para-Transit. She proposed using golf cart-style vehicles to transport students around campus, offering more flexibility and avoiding the time constraints of using regular roads.
Another possible solution is tracking the Para-Transit buses like regular buses are tracked via the University’s ETA SPOT app, which displays where specific buses and their routes are on campus. This could give students using the service more awareness as to how far away the bus is in case of delays.
Another issue that students with disabilities experience is the lack of elevator upkeep. Several elevators, such as the ones in the Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library, tend to break down.
Azul Soto-Lopez, a sophomore majoring in multidisciplinary studies, lives with a chronic gastrointestinal disease and shared how elevator issues have made navigating campus hard for him.
“There are a lot of buildings where [elevators] break incredibly easily and are out of order very often, which can make going around campus really difficult, especially if you’re disabled,” Soto-Lopez said.
Several elevators’ shaky and contrasting speeds worsen the experience.
“A lot of the elevators are either too slow in terms of getting you from where you need to be to where you’re going … [or] too fast, like the ones in the library — the door is open and they close in a second,” Zuckerman explained. “The doors will just close right on me.”
Soto-Lopez also explained that the elevator located at West Side Dining “shakes a lot when you get in [it], which isn’t the most safe.”
Students who want to avoid using the elevators face other challenges, with the campus layout also being difficult to traverse.
Aside from elevators, the Zebra Path is the only pathway where wheelchair users can access buildings such as the Stony Brook Union and the Staller Center for the Arts. Its decline poses dangers for students with disabilities, as they find themselves moving down the path at a faster rate.
“I can’t go fast down the Zebra Path because where it’s flat, there’s, like, little bumps. I generally don’t go down the Zebra Path at all because it’s kind of a nightmare,” West said.
Students who find themselves at the bottom of the Zebra Path are also greeted with broken concrete and cracks that could pose a threat to wheelchairs and crutches.
A student who requested to remain anonymous spoke to The Statesman about her difficulties with finding accessible seating in Frey Hall. She recalled one instance in which she and her friend, also possessing disabilities, had trouble deciding where to sit.
“In Frey, the seating is horrible. They only really account for one or two disabled people at a time,” she added. “The second there’s more of us it’s unheard of,” she said.
The Charles B. Wang Center, which opened in 2002, is another point of contention for disabled students. Out of the four building entrances, only one has ADA automatic buttons for the doors. A side entrance has a ramp that, as of 2010, no longer abides by the ADA regulations with a width of less than 36 inches, confusingly leading to heavy doors that are missing automatic buttons.
Despite all bathrooms in the building having ADA signage, only one male and one female bathroom on the second floor have automatic buttons, with the rest once again leaving students to deal with heavy doors.
“The accessibility in the Wang Center is extremely poor, the elevators are poorly labeled and slow,” said Zuckerman. “This is one of our newest buildings on campus; [it] is not acceptable.”
Ava Gurba, a disability advocate who worked under the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) Program and a Stony Brook alumna from the class of 2023, lives with autism, cerebral palsy and is the co-founder of Disabled in Higher Education, a nonprofit organization which helps empower students with disabilities to advocate for themselves. During her time at Stony Brook University, she also served as an instructor for the training Introduction to the Science and Lived Experience of Autism, a class that guides faculty and family on working with students with disabilities.
She reflected on her experiences with SASC as both a student and an employee of the LEND Program.
“My relationship with SASC has changed over time, but I think [there were] challenges with accommodations. [But] most of the time, SASC was great,” she said.
Gurba explained how her work with SASC led to the implementation of several accessible spaces around campus.
In spring 2018, SASC established the Academic Community Engagement Peer Mentors program. The program helps underclassmen with disabilities cope with academic and social demands by pairing them with upperclassmen with disabilities.
“We got the sensory room put in place, [which] also supported a mentorship program that now runs at SASC for first-year students,” she said.
Gurba recognized the progress made in accessibility throughout her time at the University, but acknowledged the challenges still present on campus.
“They expanded [the sensory rooms] to Tabler [Community] and so that was big,” she said. “Again, I think very tangible things for access that Stony Brook, over time, [has] improved on. But there are [still] lots of barriers.”
But physical accessibility issues are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to challenges for students with disabilities.
Refusal to make room in elevators, not holding doors open and intrusive staring are regular issues students often experience. On the other hand, some students report that they have faced the opposite issue, with some people crossing boundaries in an attempt to “help.”
West detailed several encounters where students have, without warning or consent, grabbed the handles of their wheelchair to start pushing them. They recalled one incident where a man began to push their wheelchair. When West requested that the man let go, the man ignored West and continued to move them around. In response, West locked the wheels in place to stop the supposed “good Samaritan.”
“People can be really, really rude at the [Melville Library] elevators. I’ve had people step over my lap to get into the elevator before me,” West added. “I once had someone grab my wheelchair and pull me back so they could get into the elevator in front of me.”
It has come to the point where West now carries notes to give out to people who cross boundaries. The notes explain dos and don’ts for how to interact with disabled people, and it includes a fact sheet.
Zuckerman voiced her resentment for “performative disability advocacy.”
“I heard someone say the other day, you can’t say the word ‘disabled,’” she said.
She expressed the interaction as being a part of “ableism,” a term that refers to discrimination and prejudice against people with disabilities.
“There’s stuff we can do to make sure people are socially aware of not just how to act with disabled people, but accept them for who they are,” she said.
The student who requested to remain anonymous recalled a time when she was followed by two men across campus.
“They made fun of my cane and made fun of me for struggling with a door,” she said.
When she stepped forward without her cane, the two men accused her of faking her disability.
“A lot of people don’t compute that disability is not a monolith. A lot of people don’t understand fluidity and experience [with disabilities],” she said.
She disclosed she felt she had to explain her disability to the men following her.
“There’s this expectation for disabled people to put up with a lot of [b*******],” she added. “To be these patient, calm educators and to self-justify and explain and never get impatient and get fed up.”
Soto-Lopez reflected on their first year on campus when their chronic gastrointestinal disease left them bedridden for days from fatigue. While some professors were understanding, others questioned Soto-Lopez on their absence and need for extensions, asking for evidence of their condition and still showing reluctance for leniency.
“I tried explaining it to them and they still required a doctor’s note with an explanation of the disorder regardless,” Soto-Lopez added. “Even when I gave them the doctor’s note, they weren’t budging much on extension. The most I would get was maybe like a day or two if I was lucky.”
Gurba remembered facing similar struggles with faculty when she was a student at the University, similar to Soto-Lopez.
“I found in my experience, the more transparent I was about my disability with a lot of faculty members … the more willing they were to put accommodations in place,” Gurba added. “I think when it was more vague for a number of faculty members, it became harder for them [to understand what they needed to do] in terms of getting accommodations.”
Gurba reflected on her efforts to self-advocate when she was a student, but felt that students having to disclose and discuss their disability in-depth was unfair.
At one point in her time at the University, Gurba recalled dropping out of courses due to several factors, a major one being the lack of accommodations from professors.
“When it comes to SASC, they’re like, ‘Yeah, we put these accommodations in place.’”
But it’s up to the professor to implement them, right? And so, you know, when it became too hard once or twice I sometimes had to take that loss and it sucked,” she added. “Like, it just isn’t worth managing all of that and doing the courses.”
The student who requested to be anonymous spoke to The Statesman about experiencing seizures inside class due to strobe lights. Despite her informing her professor several times of her increased likelihood of experiencing seizures, her professor did not provide accommodations for her.
“There was a lack of accountability from faculty,” she added. “I was not taken seriously.”
However, Gurba believes there are ways to improve accessibility in this area.
“I [know] faculty don’t get a lot of training on the requirements around the ADA and our accommodations. It’s something they are often thrown into,” she said. “I think one of the things that could be approved is training in education.”
Gurba recalled feeling isolated as a student with disabilities at Stony Brook, noting the absence of efforts to build a disability community or create a dedicated club.
She specifically noted that her able-bodied peers often overlooked the concerns of students with disabilities, adding that the crowded environments and limited space in many campus facilities frequently discouraged students with disabilities from attending events.
“Are clubs held in accessible spaces? Are campus events held in accessible ways? Are they considering people with different needs?” she asked. “I’ve been proud to be making efforts to improve some of this, but when I left [it was] still largely lacking.”
Zuckerman shared similar concerns and took the initiative to help build a supportive community for students with disabilities. In the spring semester of last year, she proposed the formation of the Disabled Students Association (DSA).
According to Student Engagement and Activities (SEA), there are three steps in the club approval process. The first step is the proposal process, in which clubs must list their name, unique statement of purpose, external affiliations, growth and sustainability plans and an initial meeting agenda. This is followed by the proposal review process.
If clubs are approved, they are moved forward to cohort training and resources, where the core four leaders (president, vice president, secretary and treasurer) participate in a series of training initiatives.The last step includes creating the organization page on SB Engaged, where interested students can find out more information about the organization.
“There was no disability club,” Zuckerman added. “We don’t have any [organization talking] about disabled students on campus.”
Their proposed club was a space where Zuckerman hoped students at the University could advocate for accessibility and connect with other students. She created a Discord server where students could connect with each other and discuss frequent accessibility issues.
However, in February, SEA informed Zuckerman that the unofficial club would have to disband.
While the DSA was still in the process of club ratification, another disability advocacy club named the Disability Alliance (DA) had been approved.
SEA told Zuckerman that the existence of her club had violated school policy. According to section B of the Community Guidelines for Recognized Student Organizations, the University maintains that clubs must have “a unique statement of purpose, and ensure the organization’s purpose and function do not duplicate or closely resemble those of an already existing organization.”
SEA determined that the DSA’s statement of purpose resembled the DA club’s statement of purpose too closely. On Feb. 3, Zuckerman met with the president of the DA club over Zoom to discuss the ways in which she could collaborate with the club.
However, the meeting ended differently than what Zuckerman had hoped for.
On Feb. 5, Zuckerman lodged a bias report against the president of the DA club after she allegedly faced antisemitic harassment. Zuckerman claimed she was repeatedly questioned about her views on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas due to her Jewish ethnicity.
On Feb. 7, she rescinded the order due to fears of retaliation on campus.
On Feb. 14, Zuckerman announced the news of the DSA’s disbandment and her experiences with the president of the DA club on Reddit, receiving a mixture of backlash and support from members of the Stony Brook community. That same day, she reopened the bias report as she felt had “nothing to lose.”
In the post, Zuckerman wrote that the president of the DA club had “made it clear that the club would focus on global activism rather than accessibility issues at Stony Brook.”
According to the DA club’s constitution found on SB Engaged, their mission was to improve campus awareness of those with disabilities.
“This club aims to educate about disabilities and the state of disability services agencies, independent living centers, mental health centers, and the geriatrics and vocational rehabilitation agencies. Along with community-building and providing education, Disability Alliance will work to ensure equity, inclusion, and opportunity for people with disabilities,” the club’s constitution stated.
Zuckerman expressed her frustration with SEA’s choice of not allowing two disability-related clubs to coexist.
The Statesman reached out to the DA club for comment, but was told that because the club was still in the process of developing a more complete e-board, it would not be responding to interview requests at this time.
Via email, SEA reaffirmed to The Statesman why the organization did not approve Zuckerman’s club.
“SEA’s New Club/Organization Process strives to ensure new clubs and organizations complement, rather than compete with, existing efforts,” SEA wrote. “If clubs/organizations are not significantly different from other already recognized groups, SEA encourages students to contact the existing organization and find out how to join/support the group’s mission.”
On April 22, The Division of Student Affairs wrote to The Statesman about the status of the DA.
“Recently, [SEA] was informed by the [DA] club leadership that the group was going to become inactive due to some personal issues that came up in their leadership. SEA is prepared to have the organization eligible for re-registration in the summer for new leadership to take on the organization,” they wrote.
As of April 23, there are currently no active clubs on campus committed to helping students with all kinds of disabilities.
Despite these setbacks, Zuckerman remains dedicated to advocating for students with disabilities.
On Feb. 28, Zuckerman posted a YouTube short as well as a Reddit post announcing the launch of the Student Accessibility Advisory Board (SAAB), a student-led committee that would work in conjunction with the administration to improve accessibility at Stony Brook.
Zuckerman was driven to start the board after a meeting with Gillian Farnan, an assistant director of SEA, and Christine Marullo, the director of SEA.
“They gave me the spark I needed to start using my voice in a progressive way that was more than clubs and can achieve more than what a club can achieve,” Zuckerman said. “A club really can only achieve so much on campus, but once we get even further and start working with administration, that’s where the real changes begin.”
Zuckerman has posted flyers around campus with links to her self-made Discord and SAAB website, as well as a student petition for its creation. As of April 20, the petition garnered 118 signatures, 18 above its initial goal of 100 signatures.
She expressed her frustration with the lack of action taken to help students with disabilities and emphasized SAAB’s commitment to helping deconstruct some of the barriers that students face.
“One of the things that I’m so fed up with is empty promises [and] empty words. I’m sure all my peers are fed up with it too,” Zuckerman added. “Actual change is our number one priority. People will be heard. People will be listened to, people will be understood and people will be getting their results.”
Zuckerman explained that SAAB would be the liaison between the University administration and students in promoting accessibility.
“We would basically act as that voice of students who are speaking about accessibility and infrastructure matters,” she explained. “We’d make sure that students are able to be heard no matter who they are, no matter where they are on campus, no matter what department they’re in, no matter their age.”
Zuckerman expanded upon the open-forum style she hopes the board will operate under.
“I’d love to hold meetings where we would basically have a group of people who would have the ability to speak up about their issues, whether anonymously or in person, and we would hear these issues, discuss them in a open forum matter, where everyone would be able to give their input, and then we’d compile this and bring it to [University] administration,” she said.
The anonymous student shared how the diversity at Stony Brook inspired hope within her for greater accessibility and awareness across the University.
“Stony Brook is a place that can grow and be [more] accepting of its disabled population,” she added. “Not that I don’t think it’s accepting of disabled people, it’s just [that] accepting disabled people with nuance is what I need,” she said.
Zuckerman expressed the value in helping others and the importance it holds.
“If you meet someone in a wheelchair with a cane or just in crutches, because they have an injury, do your part. Hold a door. Make sure the elevator doesn’t close on them,” she added. “It’s part of our duty as good students, good people of the world.”
Viyang Hao contributed reporting.
- accessibility
- accessibility issues
- ADA Advisory Board
- Alexa Zuckerman
- Amen Ruth Galinato
- Americans with Disabilities Act
- Amit Ben-Bassat
- Angelina Livigni
- Department of Student Engagement and Activities
- Disability Alliance
- Disabled Students Association
- Interim President Richard L. McCormick
- Mobility and Parking Services
- Para-Transit
- Robin Metz
- SEA
- Student Accessibility Advisory Board
- Student Accessibility Support Center
- students with disabilities
- Tatiana Romero
- Viyang Hao
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